


Another Sentinel

by JKlog



Series: Another Sentinel [1]
Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Sentinel Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 13:05:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18661003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKlog/pseuds/JKlog
Summary: Written for the Sentinel Thursday challenge 625 - betray.





	Another Sentinel

Challenge 625 - betray

Title: Another Sentinel

Author: JKlog

Category: Slash

Word Count: 4500

A/N: Post-series. Thanks to Bluewolf for the wonderful beta work, and for suggesting a better ending paragraph.

 

Blair Sandburg looked at the sheet of fax paper and couldn’t believe what he saw. But it was true, there was the evidence before his eyes. Besides, he would never have expected that the nurse who had sent him Jim's data four years ago would still remember that he was interested in that. It was incredible. He would have to send her flowers one of these days. He wondered if Lucy would know she was risking her job by sending him that fax. But, actually, four years ago he had promised her absolute secrecy, so she didn’t have to worry.

It was a woman. Adele Turner. A chill ran down Blair's back. Could it be a second Alex Barnes? He hoped not. Anyway, there was only one way to know. Talking with her. But first, he had to talk to Jim. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake as with Alex. Jim had to know everything in advance.

Besides, it was fortunate that things had happened as they had and that Blair, now Dr. Sandburg, was in his office in Rainier, with the same fax number. Otherwise, he would never have known about the existence of another Sentinel.

With the help of William Ellison's lawyers, they had sued Rainier and Berkshire Publishers. He had received a good sum of money, but the most important thing was that the University had been obliged to allow him to finish his doctorate, presenting another thesis. In addition, his position as TA had been returned. Everything had gone much better than he had thought when he declared that his thesis was a fraud. Best of all, Jim Ellison's secret was safe. And he had been able to continue working with him in Major Crimes, thanks to the fact that he had been named consultant. They even paid him for it, although he basically did the same thing as before, without being paid.

However, finding another Sentinel wasn’t as attractive now as it would have been before. Like it was when he found Alex Barnes. But history wasn’t going to repeat itself, surely it could not be repeated.

With that in mind, he went to the police station to meet Jim for lunch. …………………………………………………….

Jim received the news better than Blair expected. He just shrugged and said:

"That nurse is going to lose her job for giving out confidential patient data."

"Ah, Jim. I'm not going to say anything, and neither are you, right?"

"No." Jim shrugged again. "Besides, I already expected it."

"What do you mean by that?"

Jim looked down at the diner table where they were having lunch. "I had a dream."

"With the blue jungle?"

"Yes. I was with the jaguar and a lemur appeared."

"Wow, it must be the animal spirit of the Sentinel. I wonder if she’ll also be having similar dreams."

"I didn’t have dreams like that until long after my senses got online."

"Dreams you should have told me about." Blair frowned. "When did you have this dream with the lemur?"

"Three days ago."

"Jim!"

"Well, I didn’t care. It was just another strange dream."

"You have to tell me about that, Jim, otherwise, bad things happen." Blair felt a chill, thinking of Alex, but not wanting to name her. "Promise me that from now on you will tell me all the dreams you have. With the blue jungle, of course."

"It's okay, Chief. I'll tell you."

"All right. Now we have to think about how we’ll approach this new Sentinel.”

"Are you going to disguise yourself as a doctor again?"

Blair laughed, remembering the performance he had done to approach Jim.

"I don’t think so. But I do have to investigate this woman, Adele Turner, as I did with you."

"Okay, Chief."

They finished eating quietly, paid the bill and went to the police station.

 

* * *

 

It turned out that Adele Turner was a medical doctor, a cardiologist, and that she worked at the Cascade General Hospital. Apparently, she had been lost for two days in the woods, when she had gone camping with some friends. She had left the camp to walk alone and got lost. When they found her, she had taken off all her clothes, because she said she couldn’t stand them against her skin, and she covered her ears with her hands, because the noises were unbearable. She couldn’t open her eyes either, the light was too bright for her.

They immediately took her to the hospital and admitted her, giving her all kinds of tests, but it turned out that she didn’t have anything wrong physically. Everything suggested that her ailments were of psychological origin. She was treated by a psychiatrist, who, of course, gave her several medications that only made her totally isolated from the world. Knowing this saddened Blair, who decided it was even more important to inform Turner of what was really happening to her.

Adele Turner was in the psychiatric wing of the General Cascade. How was Blair going to get to her to tell her about his true condition? How was she going to understand if she was so drugged? It was a very difficult situation.

Blair thought and thought, and the only option he saw was to tell everything to a third person, the psychiatrist who looked after Adele. There was no choice. He would have to go with Jim and have him show the psychiatrist his heightened senses. And they would have to make sure that the doctor kept the secret of everything he found out.

Blair called the hospital and asked for an appointment with Dr. Edward Thomson for the next day, claiming it was an emergency. And in reality, it was.

 

* * *

 

Dr. Thompson, an experienced doctor of around 60 years of age, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Detective Ellison repeated, word for word, what he had said outside the office, in the hospital corridor, very quietly, with the door closed and fifty yards away. It was impossible.

"How can I know if you do not have an electronic device that you are using to cheat me?"

Jim took off his jacket and spread his arms from his body.

"You can check me if you wish."

The doctor was tempted to do it, but he gave up. After all, Jim had also read what was written on paper in small letters, also 50 yards away. At that moment, Thomson had seen that Ellison didn’t use any device to see. He didn’t even wear glasses.

"So, all your senses are heightened?"

"That's right, doctor," Jim replied.

"Detective Ellison is a Sentinel. As it says in that book by Sir Richard Burton that I showed you, sentinels have existed since immemorial times. I have reason to believe that one of your patients, Adele Turner, is a Sentinel as well."

Luckily for Blair, Dr. Thomson didn’t ask how he had learned about Dr. Turner's symptoms.

"Holy God! Then I have been medicating a person who doesn’t have any psychiatric illness. I must fix that immediately!"

The doctor shot out of the office. Jim and Blair didn’t follow him because they figured they wouldn’t let them enter the psychiatric wing. They waited patiently for half an hour. The patients who were in the waiting room began to get nervous.

Finally, the doctor came back, visibly calmer.

"I apologize for leaving you waiting."

"No problem, doctor. How is Dr. Turner?" said Jim.

"She's fine, still sleepy, but the psychotropic drugs are going to withdraw from her body in about twenty-four hours, more or less. Then I'm going to move her to a common room and I'll call you to talk to her."

"Thank you very much, doctor. We'll see you then. Remember to keep this a secret," Blair said.

"Of course, Dr. Sandburg. I will not forget."

"See you later, doctor," Jim said.

They had left the PD a little early to go see the psychiatrist, so it was still early to shop and then go to the loft. During all that time, they were silent, both thinking about what they would say to the new Sentinel.

 

* * *

 

Adele Turner was a young African-American woman. As soon as Jim and Blair saw her, they realized that she was a very beautiful woman. Her hair was very short, but that didn’t diminish her beauty, but it highlighted her proportioned features and even more, her beautiful and big green eyes. Jim and Blair had never seen eyes like that in a black woman and they were really amazed.

She had a thin body, but not too thin, and was elegantly proportioned. She was sitting on the side of the bed, already dressed to go, with jeans and a shirt flowered in pastel colors. She looked at Jim and Blair intelligently and inquisitively. Dr. Thomson had told her that two people were going to give her an explanation about what was happening with her senses. She was really curious about what these two men were going to tell her.

"Hi! I'm Dr. Adele Turner. Dr. Thomson told me that you had something to tell me," she said, smiling and extending her hand to Blair.

Blair left the stupor he was in, admiring the beautiful woman, and smiled as well, taking the offered hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Turner. My name is Dr. Blair Sandburg, anthropologist, and he’s Detective James Ellison, from the Major Crimes Division of the Cascade P.D."

Jim also shook her hand and smiled widely. He couldn’t help but be attracted to the beautiful woman. He wondered if the same thing that had happened with Alex Barnes was happening to him.

"Dr. Turner, we know what happened to you. I'll explain," Blair said. And he went on to explain what a Sentinel was and what happened with his senses. He showed her the Sir Richard Burton monograph.

He ended by saying: "Jim, here, is also a Sentinel. We can help you control your senses, Adele. Can I call you Adele?"

"Yeah, sure. If I can call you Blair."

"Yes, of course."

"And call me Jim," said the Sentinel, smiling, who until then hadn’t spoken.

Adele flashed a bright smile at Jim, and Blair couldn’t help feeling jealous. He wanted Adele to just smile at him.

"Do you know something?" she said, "I can hear the beating of your hearts."

"Me too," Jim said and they both shared a knowing smile.

Blair had to do something to take Adele's attention away from Jim.

"Can you imagine how useful that will be for your profession? A cardiologist who can diagnose problems in the hearts of her patients without needing an electrocardiogram?" Blair said, gesturing with his hands.

This time, Adele directed her smile at the anthropologist, and it accelerated his heart. Adele noticed, of course. She was very aware of the effect she was having on both men.

"I have to tell you something, Adele. I would like to see you again, to teach you how to control your senses. By the way, do you have a way to go back to your house? Do you want us to take you?"

"No, I have no way to go back. I would appreciate a ride. Besides, I think it’s good that we see each other again. I’d really like to learn more about my senses, they are a real problem when they are out of control."

They accompanied her to fill out the papers for her departure from the hospital. Then, they took her to the apartment building where she lived. It was quite close to the hospital. They exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye until the next day.

 

* * *

 

Several weeks passed, during which Jim and Blair taught Adele everything they knew about how to control the senses. She was very grateful and happy.

Besides, she had returned to work as a cardiologist and had used her senses in the exercise of her job. Actually, she couldn’t complain.

Blair was very proud of her. He made up his mind. The next day he would invite her to dinner. He liked the young cardiologist very much and thought to act on it. Besides, he believed that his feelings were reciprocated.

Now Jim was in his bedroom, as soon as he came downstairs, he was going to tell him about his intentions with Adele. He expected the Sentinel to agree. He had noticed that Jim also liked Adele, but since he hadn’t done anything about it, Blair thought he had free way to conquer her.

Jim went down to the living room and Blair got up from the couch, turning to talk to him. But he froze when he saw that Jim was dressed in a suit. He hadn’t told him anything about a date today.

"Where are you going, Jim?"

"I'm going out with Adele."

Blair opened his eyes how big they were. He couldn’t believe what he had heard.

"You’re going out with Adele?"

"That's what I said, Chief. We're going to dinner at a restaurant."

"I can’t believe it. You know I like Adele. I was going to invite her for tomorrow."

"Well, you delayed too long. Now she's going out with me."

"I don’t think she's interested in dating a forty-year-old man, Jim. You don’t have a chance with her."

"Are you declaring war on me, Blair?"

At the mention of his name, Blair stiffened and frowned. He was furious at his friend's betrayal. How could Jim do that? At least he had thought of talking to Jim before dating with the other Sentinel, but Jim hadn’t done that, he hadn’t minded hurting his Guide’s feelings. As if he didn’t care at all what Blair thought.

"You can bet we're at war, Jim."

The Sentinel put on his best stone face. This angered Blair even more.

"Well, may the best man win, then," Jim said.

He put on his overcoat, grabbed his keys and left.

Blair was left boiling with rage and sadness. Jim was his best friend. He didn’t want to lose his friendship. It would be very sad if they fought over a woman. Would Jim throw him out of the loft? Whether he stayed with Adele or if Jim won the 'war', the relationship between them was going to be hurt.

Blair was really sad now. He truly loved Jim, like a brother. He had even come to think that he felt something more for him, a less fraternal kind of love. But now he could only think of Adele. She had impressed him deeply. Besides, she was a Sentinel. What if he was meant to be her guide and Jim had been just another sentinel on the way? Maybe that's why he felt so attracted to her. Maybe it was his destiny to be Adele's Guide.

But no, it couldn’t be. Blair recalled his experience on the spiritual plane, when Jim had brought him back to life at the fountain. That was very important. Their spirits had joined, they had merged into each other. It wasn’t something that could be taken lightly. Jim and he were linked by a very strong bond, the bond between Sentinel and Guide.

However, that bond hadn’t prevented Jim from betraying him. Because it had been a betrayal, a knife in the back. He had made an appointment with Adele without saying anything to Blair, no matter what he thought. That hurt.

Blair thought he didn’t feel like having dinner and decided to go to bed early. The next day he would have to make very important decisions, and he really didn’t have the heart to think about that at that moment. He would have to talk to Jim very seriously and see what could be saved from their friendship.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Blair got up earlier than Jim. That didn’t happen often.

He started making coffee and decided to make a breakfast like the one he had made the first morning he had been in the loft. Scrambled eggs and toast. He remembered that Jim had told him that this "courtship ritual" wasn’t going to stop him from kicking him to the street. Blair smiled. He had many memories like that in these four years that Jim and he had lived together. A stay that had supposed at the beginning that it would last only a week. Ha!

"Good morning, Chief," Jim said, going down the stairs. Blair was so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn’t seen him.

"Good morning. The eggs will be ready in five minutes."

"OK. I'll take a shower, then."

When Jim came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a robe, Blair had already laid eggs and toast on the table. They sat and ate in silence.

Blair was dying to ask how the date had turned out, but he restrained himself. Would they have kissed? Had something else happened?

When he finished eating, Blair wiped his mouth with a napkin, drank some coffee and said, "If you're waiting for me to ask you about last night, you wait in vain. What I really want to know is why you didn’t tell me anything before. Why didn’t you talk to me if you intended to conquer Adele."

Jim looked at him with a frown.

"I don’t have to tell you anything before making a date with a woman."

"It's not any woman! It's Adele! Also, you knew that I was interested in her. You knew!"

"Actually, I didn’t know. We never talked about it. All I knew was that your pheromones were sprouting like crazy every time we were with her."

"That's enough indication, don’t you think?"

Jim took the newspaper, looked up the sports section and said: "Anyway, she's all yours now."

"What do you mean?"

"That she rejected me, Chief." Jim put on a sad face. "When I tried to kiss her, she told me that she liked me very much, but that she didn’t care about me that way. That she just wanted to be my friend."

Blair's eyes widened. He didn’t dare to smile because, obviously, Jim was very hurt by what had happened. He even had a little anger against Adele for hurting Jim. It didn’t make sense. He was supposed to be happy that the road was free. But what pleased him most about the situation was that there was no longer a 'war' between Sentinel and Guide. He wouldn’t have to leave the loft.

"Won’t you be upset if I ask her out, then?"

"No, Chief, no. As I said, she's all yours."

Luckily, it was Saturday. Blair started making plans of where to take Adele. Maybe to the movies, or to dance. He knew that she liked those two things. Then, a movie, then to dinner, and if she was in the mood, to dance. His intention was for the young cardiologist to have fun like never before. Surely that was what she had missed on her date with Jim. Fun.

 

* * *

 

Blair invited Adele out that same day. He went to get her in his car, grateful that the Volvo was doing well. When he entered her apartment, his breathing stopped when he saw how beautiful Adele was. She was wearing a green dress that enhanced the color of her eyes.

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks, Blair. You look very handsome, too."

Blair smiled at her and together they went to the car. They went to the cinema where they were showing an Italian film in black and white, which Adele had mentioned that she wanted to see. It wasn’t very much fun, but Blair could tell that Adele was enjoying herself. He took her hand in an exciting moment of the film, and she didn’t reject it, which gave him hope.

Then, they went to dinner. Blair had made sure not to go to the same restaurant Jim had taken her to. They sat at the table and Blair didn’t remove the chair for her, because he knew that she hated that.

They talked amicably throughout the dinner. Blair was happy because Adele seemed to be having a good time.

At one point, she said, "Did you realize you're just talking about Jim?"

Blair's eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. He only talks about you, too. All the time."

They were silent for a moment, Blair thinking about what Adele was saying.

"Well, it's logical. We are best friends. We live together and we work together. He is my Sentinel and I am his Guide. It's natural that we talk about each other."

Blair smiled triumphantly at his irrefutable logic.

"I don’t think it's just for that," said the Sentinel, "I think there's something else. But I'm not going to tell you. You have to realize it alone."

"What are you implying, Adele?"

"I'm not implying anything. I'm just saying that you should think about that. Both of you."

Blair frowned. He knew what Adele was talking about and he didn’t like it a bit. What did she think she was? She didn’t know them enough to say that. That they both talked about each other all the time didn’t mean anything. Or it did?

"You talked about this with Jim?" Blair asked.

"Yes, and he reacted just like you." Adele took her glass and drank a swig of wine, then said: "I have news to give you."

"Yes?"

"I think I've found my Guide."

"That's great, Adele! Who is it?"

"She is a nurse who works in the hospital. Her name is Lucy Newsome."

Blair opened his eyes wide, because he recognized that name.

"It’s incredible! I know Lucy. She's the nurse who sent me the fax with your information. Four years ago, she did the same with Jim's data. Thanks to her I discovered two Sentinels."

"Yes, she told me." Adele smiled. "My senses work much better when she’s close. Also, she pulled me out of a zone-out very easily. I’d like you to talk to her, to teach her what you know about how to be a guide."

"Of course. It will be my pleasure."

Blair paid the bill and they both left the restaurant. The going to dance was left aside. Blair left Adele in her apartment and then returned to the loft, where Jim was waiting for him, lying on the couch.

Blair stood next to him and looked at him tenderly. The Sentinel had tried to wait for him awake, but he had fallen asleep. Blair shook him gently, to wake him up.

"Hey, Jim. Wake up. I'm here."

"Uh, uh, what time is it?" Jim said, yawning.

"It's one a.m."

"How did it go?"

"We’d better talk tomorrow, Jim."

"That complicated, huh?" Jim got up from the couch and stretched. "Then, it will be tomorrow. Good night, Chief." And he went up to his bedroom.

Blair went to the bathroom and then lay down on his bed. He spent a lot of time with his arms behind his head, looking at the ceiling and thinking about what Adele had told him about his relationship with Jim.

 

* * *

 

 As it was Sunday, they both slept late. Jim got up first. He started making coffee, took a shower and shaved. When he came out of the bathroom, Blair was sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

"The bathroom is all yours, Chief. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Sunday's special, Jim."

"Well, blueberry pancakes, made to order."

Blair showered and shaved. When he came out of the bathroom, the pancakes were ready.

"They are delicious. Thanks, Jim."

"You're welcome, Chief." They were silent for a few minutes as they devoured the pancakes. When they finished, Blair brought the dishes to the sink and washed them, as well as the utensils Jim had used to cook.

When he finished washing, he looked into the living room and saw that Jim was waiting for him on the sofa. The Sentinel beckoned him with a finger to get close. Blair felt a knot in his stomach. He walked over and sat on the couch near Jim.

"Are we going to talk, Chief?"

Jim Ellison wanting to talk! That was quite an event.

"What happened with Adele last night?" Jim asked.

"She told me the same thing she told you."

"You mean, that you and I ...?" Jim said and pointed between them to make himself understood.

"Yes. And I think she's not the only one who thinks that."

"You're right. I have heard many rumors at work. But what do you think, Chief?"

"Actually, I had that thought a few months ago, that what I felt for you was more than friendship." Blair looked at his hands clasped in his lap. "Last night I was thinking a lot about that. About us. We do everything together and live together. We just need to sleep together. Because the feelings are there, you can’t deny them. What do you think? " He had asked the latter, looking Jim in the eye.

Jim's gaze was full of tenderness. "I think I love you, Blair. And Adele is a beautiful and intelligent woman, but I could never get to feel for her what I feel for you."

Blair's smile seemed to light up the entire loft. "We were cheating ourselves." He put his right hand on Jim's cheek. "It's time we take a step forward in our relationship."

They approached each other and gave their first kiss. Both felt their eyes fill with tears, as there was so much tenderness. When they parted, they looked each other in the eye, smiling softly. Then they embraced tightly.

"I have something to tell you," said Blair, when they separated. And he told Jim that Adele had found her guide, and that it was Lucy, the nurse who had given him the information about both sentinels.

"We could go to the hospital tomorrow, so I can meet her," Jim said.

"Okay, tomorrow we're going."

 

* * *

 

The next day they went to the hospital. Adele realized that something had happened, by the way Jim and Blair behaved. She hoped it to be like that, but she wasn’t going to ask anything, she was a very discreet woman. She would wait for her friends to tell her in due time.

Adele told them that she had had a dream with a blue jungle and a lemur. Blair explained about animal spirits and that Lucy would surely have one too. This delighted the Sentinel, who, unlike Jim, had no problem with the spiritual aspect of his condition.

Then Lucy took a picture of Jim, Blair and Adele. Jim had in his hands the book 'The Sentinels of Paraguay', which Blair had just shown Lucy.

  _It will be nice to have another sentinel-guide pair in Cascade_ , Jim decided. They each had their own responsibilities in totally different lines of work. They could meet occasionally and relax with each other, without having to remember all the time that they had a secret to keep.

Yes; life would be good.

[](https://imgur.com/g8MfhK2)


End file.
